Warrick v. Commissioner of Public Safety, C1-85-883
| Decision Date | 08 October 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. C1-85-883,C1-85-883 |
| Parties | Wendy Jane WARRICK, Petitioner, Respondent, v. COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SAFETY, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Court of Appeals |
Syllabus by the Court
On the undisputed evidence in the record, the officer did not have reasonable suspicions which warranted a brief investigatory stop where, over a five-mile stretch, he observed respondent weaving slightly within her lane and varying her speed, principally from 40 to 45 miles per hour, on a windy night when there was impaired visibility.
Harry E. Burns, II, St. Cloud, for respondent.
Hubert H. Humphrey, III, Atty. Gen., Joel A. Watne, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., St. Paul, for appellant.
Heard, considered and decided by WOZNIAK, P.J., and PARKER, and LESLIE, JJ.
Respondent Wendy Warrick petitioned the trial court for rescission of the proposed revocation of her driving privileges, and the rescission was ordered. The Commissioner of Public Safety appeals the rescission. We affirm.
Officer David Leigh was on routine patrol on Highway 75, at approximately 1:45 A.M. on December 30, 1984, when he first noticed the pick-up truck which respondent was driving. He observed it weaving within its lane in a manner he described as "subtle" and involving inches; it did not cross over either the fog line or the center line. The speed varied from 40 to under 50 m.p.h., although it was generally within the 40 to 45 m.p.h. range. Neither the speed nor the weaving amounted to a violation of law. The weather was cold and windy, and the visibility was impaired.
After following respondent's vehicle for approximately five miles, Leigh decided to stop the driver. Respondent was arrested for driving while intoxicated, and her license was subsequently revoked. She brought a petition for judicial review, and a hearing was held. The trial court found that the officer had insufficient articulable grounds to make the initial stop and that the Commissioner failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the officer had reasonable and probable cause to believe respondent was driving the motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, and rescinded the revocation of respondent's driving privileges. We affirm.
l. On the undisputed evidence in the record, did the officer have articulable suspicions which warranted a brief investigatory stop?
2. On the undisputed evidence in the record, did the officer have probable cause to believe that respondent had been driving while under the influence of alcohol?
1. The facts in this case are not in dispute. Instead, appellant Commissioner challenges the trial court's determinations of law. If the trial court has erroneously applied the law, we will overturn its decision. Noren v. Commissioner of Public Safety, 363 N.W.2d 315, 317 (Minn.Ct.App.1985).
Under the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution, a police officer may not stop a motor vehicle without a reasonable basis. A brief investigatory stop requires only reasonable suspicion of criminal activity rather than probable cause. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). The suspicion must be "specific and articulable" before such a stop is justified....
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Post
...that Post's deviations were "slight" is not in accord with the circuit court's rendition of the facts. 5. Warrick v. Comm'r of Pub. Safety, 374 N.W.2d 585, 585-86 (Minn.Ct.App.1985) ("subtle" weaving within lane insufficient to support reasonable suspicion); Salter v. North Dakota Dept. of ......
-
State v. Pratt
...of some of the dissent's cases that slight degrees of intra-lane weaving alone do not justify a stop. See Warrick v. Comm'r of Pub. Safety, 374 N.W.2d 585, 585-86 (Minn.Ct.App.1985) (finding no reasonable suspicion where intra-lane weaving was "`subtle' and involving inches"); Salter v. Nor......
-
Robinson v. State
...889–91 (2001) (two instances of touching or crossing fog line did not establish reasonable suspicion); Warrick v. Comm'r of Pub. Safety, 374 N.W.2d 585, 585–86 (Minn.Ct.App.1985) (“subtle” weaving within lane insufficient to support reasonable suspicion); State v. Prado, 145 Wash.App. 646, ......
-
State v. VandeHoven
...of unlawful conduct. See, e.g., Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1964).2 See, e.g., Warrick v. Commissioner of Public Safety, 374 N.W.2d 585 (Minn.App.1985).3 See also Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984) [implicitly sanctioning a......
-
Table of Cases
...of Lincoln, 864 F.2d 1436 (8th Cir. 1987) 259 Warren, State v., 78 P.3d 590 (Utah 2003) 21, 52 Warrick v. Commissioner of Public Safety, 374 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. App. 1985) 29 Watson, United States v., 423 U.S. 411 (1976) 71, 75, 148 Watts, United States v., 67 F.3d 790 (9th Cir. 1995) 170 Wax......
-
Search and seizure
...over for one-half to three-quarter miles. The court found the detention was lawful. Warrick v. Commissioner of Public Safety (1985) 374 N.W.2d 585. During windy conditions, a car was seen subtly weaving and changing its speeds between 40 and 45 mph. The o൶cer stopped the vehicle. The cour......
-
Chapter 2. Traffic Detentions
...load of drugs suppressed when the only basis for the stop was a single incident of weaving); Warrick v. Commissioner of Public Safety, 374 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. App. 1985) (“subtle” weaving of the vehicle within its own lane did not create reasonable suspicion for stop). One federal court noted......